Targeted Resisted Breathing: How I Lowered My Blood Pressure 20 Points

At my recent physical, my blood pressure was 100/62. Not just good. Optimized. From practicing Targeted Resisted Breathing (TRB). Practicing TRB optimized my blood pressure. If TRB can do it for me, it can do it for you, too.

When I started developing TRB, I was all about managing chronic stress and wasn’t thinking about blood pressure. I’m 63 years old, fit, but in long-term remission from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with degenerative joint disease, multiple joint replacements and fusions, and a significant history of trauma, anxiety, insomnia, and pain. This is why I care so much about managing chronic stress. But the relationship between blood pressure and chronic stress is strong, and the mitigation of chronic stress can significantly lower your blood pressure, which as you will see, can do wonderful things for your healthspan, as you confront the diseases of aging.

Back In The Day

I’ve always had good heart health. For a while, that’s all I had. Back in the 90s, in between my hip replacement and my bilateral knee replacement, I was having my foot fused in three places. I was about to have a cancer scare as well, but that’s a different story. Anyway, after four and a half hours of surgery, awake, I was watching the team rushing around finishing up, all except for the anesthesiologist, who was staring at his monitor, unmoving. Then he said, “wow.”

“What’s wow?” I asked, more than curious. “You were on the table for four and a half hours and your blood oxygenation level never dropped below 99%,” he responded. “I’ve never seen that before.” I didn’t know much about blood oxygenation, but I took this as a good sign. At the lowest point of my life, my heart health gave me a ray of hope.

Covid

Since then, at my annual physicals, my blood pressure has been about 120/80, with some minor swings. My doctors saw this as good. Because of Covid restrictions, I missed my annual blood pressure check for a few years. When I got Covid, my feet went numb, and the numbness spread up to my knees, and I didn’t know if it would go away. This was especially stressful for someone with my history, which motivated me to make my breathwork more rigorous, which evolved into TRB.

On my first year back in the doctor’s office, my first as a TRB practitioner, my blood pressure was 106/72, quite a bit lower. I noticed but didn’t think about it much, still focused on chronic stress. But this year, at the first of two pre-surgical clearance physicals, when my blood pressure was 106/61, I started thinking about it. At my annual checkup a few weeks later, I made a point of sitting still while they checked me. It was 104/68. Two months later, at the pre-clearance for my next surgery, I sat still and closed my eyes, but no breathwork tricks. 100/62, while still recovering from the first surgery. That’s an unusually low number.

Hypo?

All this got my doctor’s attention. She checked me for any symptoms of low blood pressure (hypotension). Hypotension is too low, and tends to be more of a systemic problem than a cardio one, but it comes with symptoms that are easy to diagnose:

• Lightheadedness or dizziness

• Weakness

• Blurry vision

• Pale, clammy skin

• Fatigue or lethargy

• Confusion

• Nausea

• Fainting

• Unsteadiness

• In severe cases: agitation, cold skin, weak pulse, and breathing problems¹

I had none of these. I was fit, working out regularly, and getting about 15,000 steps per day, walking my dogs in the woods on my 110 year old feet. After much questioning and a thorough exam, my doctor determined that my blood pressure was likely optimal, better than good.

TRB?

By now I was curious. Could TRB lower my already good blood pressure 20 points? Besides TRB, most every aspect of my life was the same, with these three exceptions:

• I was a few years older;

• I switched from mostly high intensity interval training (cardio) to mostly low impact resistance training (not cardio);

• I had to start walking slower because of my feet (even less cardio);

As you can see, none of these would’ve lowered my blood pressure. If anything, they should’ve raised it. TRB was the only other change and my blood pressure dropped 20 points. You could add the data point that, since beginning TRB, I’ve also raised my morning Heart Rate Variability (HRV) up to above 80ms (very good), which puts me well above the 95th percentile for men my age, despite decreasing my cardiovascular exercise. The simplest answer is that practicing TRB both raised my HRV and lowered my blood pressure 20 points².

My experience is well supported by the science. A study by Zou et al, "Meta-Analysis of Effects of Voluntary Slow Breathing Exercises for Control of Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in Patients With Cardiovascular Diseases," analyzed the effects of slow breathing exercises on heart rate and blood pressure in individuals with cardiovascular conditions. They found that slow breathing exercises significantly reduced both systolic (the first number) and diastolic (the second number) blood pressure. TRB is essentially slow breathing taken to the next next level, with progressive resistance, deliberate practice, immediate expert feedback, driven by data.

Autonomic Balance with Parasympathetic Resilience

In previous posts, I’ve made a big deal about restoring autonomic balance with parasympathetic resilience. One of its nice benefits is that it’s taught my body how to relax. If I close my eyes and breathe normally, for the 10-15 seconds of a blood pressure check, my body relaxes into a parasympathetic state, quickly and deeply. My breath naturally slows, my heart rate decreases, and my HRV increases. It’s no longer something I consciously do. My nervous system has learned where this relaxed state is within me, and it goes there if I close my eyes and still myself, without my telling it to. That’s why my eyes-closed blood pressure was 100/62. Because I have healed my chronic stress, and because my parasympathetic system is resilient and strong, my body can relax in a moment, naturally.

This fluid response is the whole point of autonomic balance. When one is confronted with challenges, one’s body fully engages. When given an opportunity to rest and recover, one’s body fully relaxes. If your body can do this, without you telling it to, then among a whole slate of positive things, you probably have very good blood pressure³.

Autonomic balance is not that hard to achieve. TRB can get you there in a few months, if you stick with it.

HRV and Blood Pressure

Along with resilience, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the benefits of having a higher Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV numbers have an inverse relationship with blood pressure numbers: People with higher (good) HRV tend to have lower (good) blood pressure, especially their diastolic (the second number); while lower HRV was correlated with a 38% increase in developing heart disease over the next four years⁴. High HRV is a measure of autonomic balance, which correlates with a healthy heart, which correlates with very good blood pressure, which is a foundational measure of overall health and well being⁵.

Chronic Stress

If, as I’ve hypothesized in previous posts, that TRB is essentially resistance training for your autonomic nervous system, and if a direct intervention of resistance training can make a body system stronger and more resilient, then it’s likely that practicing TRB lowered my blood pressure by 20 points. Over the course of a year or so, it probably strengthened my parasympathetic nervous system, healed my chronic stress, and restored me to autonomic balance with parasympathetic resilience⁶.

Optimal?

This got me thinking. If being physically fit – with bigger stronger muscles and denser bones, but not too much – is better than just being healthy, could optimal blood pressure – lower than good but not too low – be better than good⁷?

If so, and if high blood pressure was a foundational factor in the biggest diseases of aging, would getting one’s blood pressure down to optimal slow the progression of heart, neurodegenerative, and metabolic disease, even more than good BP would⁸?

Optimal blood pressure, beyond good, is not well studied, because medicine’s focus is on lowering high blood pressure. The studies suggest a benefit, but are somewhat confounded, because when most researchers say low, they mean hypo low, instead of optimal low, which is rare and would be hard to study.

Important Point

When I say Optimal, I mean your optimal. Everyone is different, age, fitness, genetics, but for your unique neurophysiology, at this point in time, there is a dialed in number you could achieve, and for many it will be below 120/80. Also, your optimal number is dynamic, which means it can and will change over time, potentially for the better.

The Law of Diminishing Returns – Your New Best Friend

About now, many of you are saying, congratulations, you’re a neuro-cardio superstar, but what about me? My blood pressure is 140/90 (or higher). What can you do for me? Well friends, I have good news! Starting from higher might make it easier.

The Law of Diminishing Returns tells us that, in any pursuit, the biggest, easiest gains tend to come at the beginning. Typically, it’s much easier to go from beginner to intermediate than from intermediate to advanced. It doesn’t matter whether it’s lifting weights, playing the violin, or optimizing your blood pressure. The less you start with, the more you have to gain, until you reach your unique potential⁹.

When my blood pressure was 120/80, I was essentially an intermediate, because I was active and fit, with good habits, and probably some good cardiovascular genetics. When I got it down to 100/62, I was advanced. 95/60 might be my fully optimized, olympic caliber score, but because I have already achieved most of my potential, it might take a lot of work just to drop those last few points¹⁰.

If you’re starting well above 120/80, you’re more like a beginner. Because you have realized very little of your blood pressure potential, you might have more room for growth than I did, especially easy growth. And even if your potential low is not as low as mine, you may be able to lower your score by more points than I did, potentially quite a few more.

Sam – Advanced Beginner

The typical person my age might have a blood pressure of about 133/87. Let’s call them Sam. Sam’s 133/87 BP is considered normal to high, so they’re essentially an advanced beginner¹¹. Sam is probably healthy but well short of fit. With Sam’s age, and mild BP elevation, Sam may be experiencing cardiovascular changes, such as increased sympathetic activity (stressed), arterial stiffening and narrowing, and decreased vascular elasticity, which could be early indicators of atherosclerosis. While all of these changes are consistent with normal aging, they might limit Sam’s potential some¹². If Sam’s artery walls have these changes, Sam may not be able to get down to 100/62, but a 20 point drop would get Sam down to 113/76. That’s an excellent number and might make Sam’s doctor do the happy dance. I would speculate that, if Sam kept practicing TRB, and achieved full autonomic balance with parasympathetic resilience, Sam could possibly get even lower than that, and potentially heal some of that cardiovascular damage¹³.

Morgan – Beginner

Sam’s friend Morgan, also 63, has a BP of 150/100, which is considered high. Morgan’s cardiovascular changes are probably more concerning, and qualify as Stage 2 hypertensive¹⁴. But starting from that high, Morgan may have the potential to lower by more points than Sam can. Along with other negative changes, Morgan’s nervous system is probably in a more advanced state of chronic stress, low (bad) HRV with high (bad) BP¹⁵. If Morgan commits to TRB, and eventually restores autonomic balance, Morgan’s blood pressure could come down to a number approaching Sam’s. Even if the number is not quite as low, Morgan may be able to reduce by more points than Sam, because Morgan started so high. By no means is this guaranteed, and there are genetic and other factors beyond your control, but everything else being equal, the further you are from autonomic balance, the greater your potential to improve both your blood pressure and HRV, as your autonomic balance is restored¹⁶.

Diminishing returns also tells us that going from advanced to optimized is not as important as going from intermediate to advanced, which is less important than the big jump from beginner to intermediate. Going from high blood pressure to good, the easiest part, has the biggest impact on health outcomes¹⁷. But why stop there? If you commit to TRB, your unique optimized BP is definitely attainable. Plus full autonomic balance with parasympathetic resilience will give your body the capacity to finally relax.

Heart Health – A Microcosm of You

Just like you, your heart wants to live in Autonomic Balance with Parasympathetic Resilience. Your heart should be able to work hard to achieve your goals, followed by complete recoveries, so it can fully repair the stress and minor damage from the day’s challenges, and be ready to embrace the challenges to come¹⁸.

If your heart doesn’t get a complete recovery before your next set of challenges, it won’t be able to restore itself completely, so it won’t be fully ready to get its job done¹⁹. This means that the next day, it will have to work harder to do the same amount of work, which will incur even more damage. This damage will require extra time to recover from, which your heart won’t get, because like you, it will still be under chronic stress. Over the course of years, this pattern will gradually damage your heart and its arteries, reduce its capacity to work, and cause it to age beyond its years²⁰. This aging will decrease the function of every organ system in your body, including your brain. If your heart is aging prematurely, then you are too²¹. You are steepening the decline of your aging curve. You don’t want a steep aging curve.

What Optimizing Really Means

With TRB, when I talk about getting your blood pressure below 120/80, what I’m really saying is, your heart is fully recovering from it’s stressors, because you’ve achieved autonomic balance with parasympathetic resilience²². This allows you to fully engage in your life’s passions, every day, because you’re getting a full recovery, every night. Because your autonomic nervous system is in near-optimal balance, stress with full recovery, your heart is both strong and well rested, which over time gives you your optimal blood pressure²³. Because your nervous system is optimized, so is your heart, which gives every organ system in your body a chance to function at its optimal level²⁴.

High Blood Pressure and The Major Diseases of Aging

As you age, your body become more susceptible to the major diseases and conditions of aging: Heart disease, stroke, neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, kidney disease, metabolic syndrome, cancer, atrial fibrillation, and others. While diverse, all of these diseases share a common thread – their close causal relationship with high blood pressure²⁵.

Optimizing your blood pressure can be a powerful tool for preventing and managing these major diseases of aging²⁶. In the following sections, we'll explore each of these diseases, their relationship to blood pressure, and how optimizing your blood pressure can improve your chances.

It's important to note that while blood pressure is a critical factor, it's not the only one. Genetics, lifestyle choices, and other health conditions all play roles in these diseases. However, blood pressure is one of the most modifiable risk factors, offering you an actionable way to improve your health prospects.

As we consider each disease, I'll provide clear, evidence-based information on how blood pressure affects its development and progression. I'll also share insights on how optimizing your blood pressure could potentially reduce your risk or improve your prognosis if you're already managing one of these conditions.

Remember, the goal isn't just to lower blood pressure, but to find the optimal range for your unique neurophysiology. Always check with your doctor to determine the best approach for you.

Heart Disease (Hypertension)

Heart disease encompasses a range of conditions affecting the heart, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, and arrhythmias. These conditions can lead to reduced heart function, chest pain, and potentially life-threatening events like heart attacks and strokes. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is both a type of heart disease and a major risk factor for other cardiovascular problems.

High blood pressure is often called the silent killer, because you typically feel no symptoms as it develops, but it causes significant damage to the heart and blood vessels over time. High blood pressure increases the workload on the heart, leading to thickening of the heart muscle and potential heart failure. Hypertension also contributes to the buildup of plaque in the arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes²⁷. Lowering blood pressure has a profound impact on heart health. Research shows that for every 10 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure, the risk of major cardiovascular events is reduced by 20%²⁸. If you lower your blood pressure significantly, you can lower your risk of developing heart failure by as much as 64%²⁹. Maintaining optimal blood pressure can significantly decrease the risk of heart disease, potentially preventing up to 50% of heart attacks and strokes³⁰.

Stroke:

Stroke, a sudden interruption of blood flow to the brain, is similar to heart disease, but targets different organs and mechanisms. While heart disease primarily affects coronary arteries, stroke damages cerebral blood vessels, leading to potentially devastating neurological consequences. As with heart disease, reducing high blood pressure is the most modifiable risk factor for stroke³¹.

Ischemic Stroke

Ischemic strokes, about 87% of all strokes, occur when a blood clot blocks a cerebral artery, cutting off oxygen supply to brain tissue. High blood pressure significantly increases the risk of ischemic stroke by promoting atherosclerosis in brain arteries and contributing to the formation of emboli from carotid plaques. Research has shown that for every 10 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure, the risk of ischemic stroke decreases by 27%³². This underscores the critical importance of blood pressure management in stroke prevention.

Intensive blood pressure control has shown significant benefits for reducing stroke risk. The SPRINT trial, a landmark clinical study that investigated the effects of intensive blood pressure control on cardiovascular and cognitive outcomes, demonstrated that targeting a systolic blood pressure below 120 mmHg led to a 41% reduction in stroke risk compared to standard treatment³³. Moreover, maintaining optimal blood pressure is crucial not only for prevention but also for improving outcomes in the critical golden hour post-stroke, where proper management can enhance recovery by up to 35%³⁴.

Hemorrhagic Stroke

Hemorrhagic strokes, though less common, are often more severe and account for about 13% of all strokes. They occur when a weakened blood vessel ruptures, causing bleeding into or around the brain. Chronic high blood pressure is a primary cause in weakening cerebral artery walls, significantly increasing the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

Effective blood pressure control is particularly important in preventing hemorrhagic strokes. Studies have found that individuals with untreated hypertension have up to four times the risk of hemorrhagic stroke compared to those with normal blood pressure³⁵. Furthermore, managing blood pressure in the long term can help prevent the formation of cerebral microbleeds and other silent brain changes that increase future stroke risk. Even small reductions in blood pressure can have substantial benefits. A reduction of just 2 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure could result in a 15% decrease in the risk of hemorrhagic stroke³⁶.

Atrial Fibrillation (AFib)

While technically not one of the major diseases of aging, we’ve included AFib because of its prevalence, strong link to high blood pressure, and interconnectedness with the other diseases. In AFib, the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia, the upper chambers of the heart (atria) beat irregularly and out of sync with the lower chambers (ventricles), which disrupts normal blood flow through the heart. AFib is a serious condition which increases your risk of stroke, heart failure, and other complications.

High blood pressure is the most common risk factor for developing AFib. Up to 80% of all AFib patients have high blood pressure. Controlling one’s blood pressure is foundational to both preventing AFib and of treating it once it’s diagnosed³⁷.

Neurodegenerative Diseases:

The Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and various forms of dementia, are characterized by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons in the brain. This significantly impacts your cognitive abilities, motor functions, and overall quality of life as you age. While the exact mechanisms vary, there seems to be a strong link between blood pressure and the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. High blood pressure, especially when sustained over time, can damage the delicate blood vessels in the brain, potentially accelerating cognitive decline and increasing the risk of various neurodegenerative conditions. Optimizing your blood pressure could be crucial to preventing and treating neurodegenerative disease.

Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. It's the most common cause of dementia in older adults, characterized by the accumulation of abnormal protein deposits in the brain, leading to neuron death and brain tissue loss. As the disease advances, it significantly impairs a person's ability to carry out daily tasks.

High blood pressure, especially in midlife, is a significant risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease. Studies have shown that midlife hypertension can lead to a 25% increased risk of Alzheimer's disease³⁸. High blood pressure can damage small blood vessels in the brain, reducing blood flow and oxygen supply to brain cells³⁹. Studies have shown that people with untreated high blood pressure have a 42% greater risk of developing Alzheimer's compared to those with treated hypertension⁴⁰. Controlling high blood pressure, particularly from middle age onward, can significantly decrease one's chances of developing dementia.

Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement. It's characterized by tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination. The disease results from the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells, which leads to a decrease in dopamine levels, which impairs our ability to control our movement and coordination.

While the direct link between blood pressure and Parkinson's is less clear than with Alzheimer's, hypertension can play a significant role in the disease's progression and management. High blood pressure can increase the risk of small vessel disease in the brain, potentially exacerbating Parkinson's symptoms⁴¹. Managing blood pressure effectively can help reduce the risk of falls, cognitive decline, and cardiovascular complications in Parkinson's patients, potentially slowing disease progression⁴².

Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic condition characterized by high blood sugar levels, resulting from either the body's inability to produce insulin (Type 1) or its ineffective use of insulin (Type 2). Diabetes affects how the body processes glucose, leading to various complications, including cardiovascular disease, kidney damage, and nerve problems.

High blood pressure and diabetes often coincide, with up to 75% of adults with diabetes also having hypertension⁴³. The combination significantly increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney problems. Controlling blood pressure in diabetic patients is crucial for reducing these risks. Studies have shown that for every 10 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure, the risk of diabetic complications decreases by 12%⁴⁴. Maintaining healthy blood pressure can significantly improve outcomes, reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease⁴⁵.

Metabolic Syndrome

More than a disease, Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of interconnected conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. We’ve included metabolic syndrome due to its prevalence and significant impact on overall health. Metabolic syndrome is diagnosed when a person has at least three of the following five risk factors: abdominal obesity; high blood pressure; high blood sugar; high triglycerides; and low HDL (good) cholesterol. About one in three American adults have metabolic syndrome, making it a critical health concern as you age.

High blood pressure is a central component of metabolic syndrome and plays a crucial role in its development and progression. Studies show that hypertension is present in more than 90% of individuals with metabolic syndrome⁴⁶. Insulin resistance, a key feature of metabolic syndrome, can lead to hypertension through several mechanisms, including increased sodium retention, sympathetic nervous system activation, and endothelial dysfunction. Conversely, high blood pressure can exacerbate insulin resistance and contribute to the worsening of other metabolic syndrome components.

The other risk factors of metabolic syndrome interact closely with blood pressure, creating a kind of vicious cycle. Abdominal obesity is associated with increased inflammation and oxidative stress, which can damage blood vessels and lead to hypertension. High blood sugar levels can cause arterial stiffness, further elevating blood pressure. Having high triglycerides (bad) with low HDL cholesterol (also bad) contributes to endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis, both of which can raise blood pressure.

Managing blood pressure is crucial in treating metabolic syndrome and reducing its associated risks. Research has shown that intensive blood pressure control in people with metabolic syndrome can significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular events. For every 10 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure, the risk of major cardiovascular events is reduced by 20%⁴⁷. Moreover, lowering high blood pressure often leads to improvements in the other components of metabolic syndrome, because they are so interconnected.

TRB would seem to be uniquely well suited for preventing and managing metabolic syndrome, but as always, please check with your doctor before practicing TRB.

Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a condition characterized by gradual loss of kidney function over time. The kidneys play a crucial role in filtering waste and excess fluids from the blood, regulating blood pressure, and producing hormones that help manage other bodily functions. As CKD progresses, it can lead to complications like high blood pressure, anemia, weak bones, poor nutritional health, and nerve damage. In its most severe form, end-stage renal disease, artificial filtering (dialysis) or a kidney transplant becomes necessary for survival.

Hypertension is both a cause and a consequence of kidney disease, creating another vicious cycle. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can damage the blood vessels in and leading to the kidneys, reducing their ability to function properly. Conversely, as kidney function declines, it becomes harder for the body to regulate blood pressure, which can lead to hypertension. Studies have shown that people with hypertension are at a significantly higher risk of developing CKD, with one large-scale study finding that individuals with high blood pressure were 81 percent more likely to develop kidney disease compared to those with normal blood pressure⁴⁸. Effective blood pressure management is crucial in both preventing and slowing the progression of kidney disease. Research shows that intensive blood pressure control (getting systolic pressure below 120 mmHg) can reduce the risk of developing kidney failure by up to 32% compared to standard blood pressure treatment⁴⁹.

Cancer

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by abnormal cell growth that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. It can affect most any part of the body and is a leading cause of death worldwide. The development of cancer involves complex interactions between genetic factors and environmental influences.

The relationship between blood pressure and cancer is less direct, but emerging research suggests a connection. High blood pressure may increase the risk of certain cancers, particularly kidney and endometrial cancer. A large-scale study found that for every 10 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure, there was a 10-20% higher risk of developing kidney cancer⁵⁰. While the mechanisms aren't fully understood, it's thought that the hypertension that causes chronic inflammation and oxidative stress may contribute to cancer development through DNA damage, genomic instability, and tumor-promoting microenvironments⁵¹⁵². Lowering one’s blood pressure may potentially reduce cancer risk, though more research is needed to quantify this benefit precisely.

Inflammation – A Pattern Emerges

In all of these diseases, the body endures chronic stress, which causes damage from which it cannot fully recover, which induces a chronic inflammation response⁵³. It is this inflammation response that is at the root of the diseases themselves⁵⁴.

If the body was able to fully recover from the stressors that correlate with high blood pressure, before that stress became chronic, then the inflammation response could then stop, before it caused the problems associated with each disease, and all would be good. But because the stress is chronic, too much for the body to recover from, the inflammation response becomes chronic as well⁵⁵. It is this continual inflammation response that fuels the conditions that lead to the disease.

By restoring autonomic balance with parasympathetic dominance, TRB has the potential to heal your stress before it becomes chronic. By potentially preventing the chronic immune response, TRB could potentially heal the damage that causes the chronic response before that response causes the disease⁵⁶. This is a big claim, and would require significant testing to be proved true. But the science supports its potential. I’ll have more on this in future posts.

Bringing It Back to Blood Pressure

A blood pressure check is a simple, elegant, and accessible tool both to measure the the stress your body is experiencing and the completeness of its recoveries, over time. If you have good blood pressure, then your body is making good recoveries. If your blood pressure is optimized, then you are making complete recoveries, and you are greatly increasing your chances to delay the major diseases of aging, and potentially avoiding them entirely.

Lowering High Blood Pressure – Endogenous vs Exogenous

When it comes to medical interventions, there are two primary approaches: endogenous and exogenous. Understanding these concepts can help us appreciate different treatment strategies and their potential impacts on our health.

Endogenous approaches work within the body's natural systems, encouraging and optimizing internal processes to achieve health benefits. These methods empower the body's innate healing mechanisms. Endogenous interventions restore balance and function by strengthening the body's own capabilities. Because endogenous treatments work with your body’s systems, they tend to induce minimal side effects. Endogenous treatments can be quite powerful, but for maximum effect, one needs to start treatment before problems become chronic.

Exogenous treatments put external substances or forces into your body. These interventions often involve medications, supplements, or devices that are not naturally produced. While exogenous treatments can be highly effective, they usually don’t start until the problem becomes chronic, and they often come with side effects.

Both approaches have their place in modern medicine, and for many, the most effective treatments combine elements of both, but as a rule, the sooner you begin, the more endogenous you can be.

Anti-Hypertensive Medications – The Go-to Exogenous Approach

Anti-hypertensive medications are drugs designed to lower high blood pressure, once it is already too high. They play a crucial role in managing hypertension and reducing the risk of associated complications such as heart disease, stroke, neurodegenerative, metabolic, and kidney problems. These medications work through various mechanisms to help the body maintain healthier blood pressure levels.

There are several classes of anti-hypertensive drugs, including ACE Inhibitors, ARBs, Calcium Channel Blockers, Diuretics, and Beta-Blockers, which target different aspects of blood pressure regulation. The choice of medication depends on various factors, including the severity of hypertension, other medical conditions, and potential side effects. Often, a combination of different anti-hypertensive drugs is used to affect blood pressure control, alongside lifestyle modifications.

While anti-hypertensive medications can be effective in managing high blood pressure, because they are exogenous, they often create nasty side effects, such as:

• Dizziness or lightheadedness

• Fatigue or weakness

• Headache

• Dry cough

• Swelling in hands, feet, or ankles

• Constipation or diarrhea

• Erectile dysfunction or decreased sexual drive

• Increased urination

• Sleep disturbances or insomnia

• Dry mouth

• Nausea

• Mood changes or depression

• Cold hands and feet

• Slow or irregular heartbeat

• Low blood pressure

These side effects can be severe. Many patients report feeling disoriented, like strangers in their own bodies: Mentally foggy from beta-blockers, physically drained by diuretics, or emotionally flattened by ACE inhibitors. Despite this, once symptoms reach a certain level, anti-hypertensives become a necessary treatment.

Why Wait?

The big flaw with the exogenous approach is that it waits until you are already sick. For years, while high blood pressure damages most every organ system in your body, your doctor and you will do nothing, beyond some gentle scolding about diet and exercise, until you have so much damage that you qualify for a diagnosis of hypertension. Once you’re diagnosed, your doctor will have no choice but to put you on anti-hypertensives, which will help your blood pressure, but the damage to most every organ system in your body will be done.

The ideal solution would be an endogenous approach, one that works with the body's natural systems to regulate blood pressure. An endogenous method utilizes the body's own mechanisms to achieve balance, potentially avoiding the side effects of anti-hypertensives, but you have to start today.

With TRB, you can heal the chronic stress that damages your heart and arteries, before you get sick. While exogenous approaches are effective at managing symptoms, TRB restores your autonomic balance and could prevent hypertension from developing in the first place. Why wait?

What If I Already Waited?

Start today. It’s never too late to start TRB. Even if your blood pressure is high, you can still lower it significantly with TRB, maybe even more than I did, even if you’re already on anti-hypertensives. TRB works through a completely different mechanism than the blood pressure meds, so there should be no overlap, but please check with your doctor before starting TRB.

TRB and VMNs – an Endogenous Solution to High Blood Pressure

With TRB, you restore your nervous system to autonomic balance with parasympathetic resilience, before you get sick. This optimizes your blood pressure now, while your heart is still healthy, and potentially delays or prevents your getting sick. Compare this with waiting until you are sick, taking an exogenous chemical, and keeping yourself alive but without ever restoring your health. It’s our hypothesis that, by providing these two minute doses of resistance training for your nervous system several times per day, TRB is stimulating your vagus nerve to a level well above its baseline. This causes it to release and/or modulate a network of Vagus Mediated Neuromodulators (VMNs), specifically acetylcholine, norepinephrine, serotonin, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and possibly GABA and oxytocin, endogenously, but at levels well beyond what your body would otherwise produce⁵⁷. Your body then uses these VMNs to heal the damage from your chronic stress and restore your nervous system to autonomic balance⁵⁸. This network of VMNs doesn't just lower BP, it restores the parasympathetic resilience you need to maintain optimal blood pressure naturally, much like resistance exercise builds muscle. TRB gives your nervous system the neuro tools it needs to heal your body by its own mechanisms, as opposed to introducing an exogenous chemical. This allows your nervous system to fully heal itself, and in turn your whole body, which over time will raise your HRV and lower your blood pressure to levels that will make your doctor smile⁵⁹.

Proof

Blood Pressure is very easy to measure. You can do it at your doctor’s office or at home with inexpensive equipment. If you practice TRB every day, as your parasympathetic nervous system gets stronger, you should see significant improvements in your blood pressure within a few months, and even more over time. If you are tracking your HRV, through a morning test or overnight with your device, you should see that improving as well.

As your blood pressure comes down, you will feel your chronic stress easing. Your energy level, cognition, sex drive, sleep, mood, and patience will all improve. Your sense of dread when facing challenges will gradually be replaced with one of opportunity and excitement. If you’re trying to lose weight, you may find it a bit easier to turn down empty calories, because your body no longer needs to fuel your state of chronic arousal.

If a person with very good blood pressure can lower their blood pressure 20 points, practicing TRB 8 minutes per day, then a person with higher blood pressure can do so as well and quite likely do better.

The diseases of aging are coming for us all. By restoring and maintaining your nervous system’s autonomic balance with parasympathetic resilience, TRB could optimize your blood pressure, help you delay these conditions, and potentially avoid them entirely.

Restoring your nervous system to autonomic balance could initiate a virtuous cycle. Combine TRB with moderate resistance and cardiovascular exercise, a healthy diet, quality sleep, engaging work, and a community of family and friends, and you have maximized your chances for a long, healthy life.

In our next post, I will talk about TRB and Building World-class Resilience. Once life stops wearing you down, challenges can become opportunities. No matter how stressful today was, you can still wake up fully recovered tomorrow morning. TRB will get you there and I will show you how. As you may have noticed, I have quite a bit of personal experience!

Bernadette Charland, Consulting Editor

Extended by perplexity.ai

Medical Disclaimer

Please consult with your licensed health care professional before beginning this or any other breathwork protocol.

All content and information on this website is for informational and educational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice, and does not establish any kind of patient-client relationship by your choice to use it. Although we strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not a substitute for any kind of professional advice, and you should not rely solely on this information.

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